1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a computerized system and method for authoring multimedia applications.
2. Description of Related Art
A new wave of information dissemination technology known as multimedia combines audio, video, still photographs, graphics, and text with interactive controls for presenting information. The growing acceptance of multimedia has increased the demand for new applications and with it the demand for tools for developing multimedia applications. In order to create a true multimedia experience, developers of multimedia applications have been faced with a steep learning curve in view of the multiple development tools which must be mastered and in view of recreating media resources.
Prior systems for authoring multimedia applications are typically procedural or course-flow based, and thus geared towards producing linear applications. One major drawback of these types of systems is that they simply do not have the ability to create sophisticated simulations, discovery-based interactive environments, and other non-linear applications.
Another major drawback with prior systems is that although they may provide "point and click" operations for simple interactions, they often resort to a scripting language or typical programming language for more complex interactions.
It can seen then that there is a need for a comprehensive development system for multimedia applications which has a visual interface, readily lends itself to reusable media, and provides sophisticated authoring tools. Without such a comprehensive system there is substantial duplication of both human and machine effort in reviewing, re-creating, and/or re-formatting data for use during the different stages of application fabrication and project management.